For whatever reason, the ASUS motherboard kept shutting down after a few minutes of operation. I never found out why, although there are several possibilities: defective manufacturing, improper CPU alignment, bent motherboard components, and a CPU fan installation error I made with my second motherboard that I may have also made with the first motherboard.

So I had to replace my first motherboard. Reading the comments on Newegg, I saw one that said that gave the ASUS motherboard less than flattering remarks, and recommended that buyers should try the MSI version. This is how I ended up with the MSI P6N SLI Platinum motherboard - same basic features, same NVIDIA 650i SLI chipset, but this time it worked.

The second install came together relatively pain-free, now that I had already been through the process once, but it still wasn't easy. I turned on the system and it was fine but the temperature was way too high, quickly reaching 70 degrees Celsius. I turned it off. It took me a long time but I eventually realized that the fan was not properly seated on the CPU, so there was inadequate heat transfer. I fixed the problem and have had no thermal issues since. I downloaded an application, MSI Dual Core Center, and as I type this, I can see that the CPU temperature is 29 degrees C.

Installing the OS on this system was very, very easy. I simply inserted the Windows XP CD into the drive, and everything loaded automatically. That part rocked!

But I only have 2 GB of RAM in the system. Why? Because the motherboard isn't guaranteed to be able to run with 4x1GB. Ouch! I paid for that RAM, and messed up shipping it back (I lost a stick and found it later). That was an expensive mistake.

Furthermore, I learned that you have to read your motherboard's RAM compatibility notes extremely carefully. I had purchased RAM that appeared to have the correct serial number but a very important letter (the last one) was wrong. The right memory was KHX6400D2LLK2/2G. The wrong memory was KHX6400D2LLK2/2GN. What's the difference? I don't know! I'm a noob! But RTFM - read that fine manual.

One final comment: it should be easier to take the hard drives from your old computer and put them in your new computer. That's directed at Microsoft, and I understand that it's not a trivial request.

Building your own computer is a learning experience that was frequently frustrating, and mistakes cost me some extra money when I'd hoped to save. But now I have a computer I can love and whose components I personally selected as the best for the job. But as a gamer, I'm already thinking, when should I build the DirectX 10 machine?